After Hillary Clinton wore this distinctive coat at a Tokyo airport Monday, one blogger predicted quite plausibly it would "fly off the rack." Her female predecessors had signature adornments too:

For Condoleezza Rice, it was high-heeled boots. When George W. Bush's second Secretary of State wore these knee-highs to Wiesbaden Army Airfield in Germany four years ago, the Washington Post's Robin Givhan daydreamed Rice was a "dominatrix," adding, "Rice's coat and boots speak of sex and power — such a volatile combination, and one that in political circles rarely leads to anything but scandal."

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With her many pins (see People spread at left) and her occasional Stetson hat, Madeleine Albright was perhaps more practical than Rice, but no less pioneering. Wrote People, "the Czech-born Albright, 61, has brought new panache to power dressing, winning praise for her colorful, well-tailored suits and bold brooches."